Finding Jesus at a Gas Station

Marla and I are on a road trip in the American Southwest. We are driving for hours and hours through the Utah desert, and we need to stop for gas. We pull into the Hollow Mountain gas station in a remote Utah town. There is a tough looking Harley-Davidson guy getting gas at the island next to us. I'm reluctant to strike up a conversion because he looks pretty intimidating. Then I overhear the guy talk, and his voice does not match his looks. To my surprise, the guy sounds fairly nice, and I decide to ask where he's heading.

The Harley-Davidson guy is friendly and quickly strikes up a conversation. He introduces himself as Tim Bliss from New York. He explains he is on a tour of all lower 48 states. Tim is also carrying the ashes of his best friend, Mike, and he's in charge of spreading Mike's ashes. Then Tim looks me right in the eye and says, "You know what happened to me??!!"

Tim says one day he is getting gas - just like today - and a lady comes up to him and asks, "Do you know Jesus?" Tim says "no." The lady asks, "Do you want to know Jesus?" Tim says, "Uh, yea, I do." The lady explains who Jesus is and how he came to save us from our sins. She explains how Jesus died for our sins, and now he offers salvation for all who believe in him and accept him as their Lord. Tim tells her he believes, and he accepts Jesus as his savior - right there at the gas pump!

I can hardly believe it. The old saying is true: you can't judge a book by its cover. I am also blown away by the boldness of the lady to just walk up to a total stranger at a gas station - a Harley-Davidson motorcycle rider no less - and share Jesus with him on the spot. Wow.

There really is power in the good news of Jesus!